CHEW. Just for two.

CHEW. Just for two.

So yesterday I posted some closing thoughts on ending CHEW and all that. What I didn’t mention was that there were a couple things I sorta wish we’d gotten to do during the comic’s life.

I wish we’d managed to do that Scratch n’ Sniff cover. But in the end, it was just too disgusting and the prospect of storing a product that smelled was the big no-sell for us.

I wish we’d done a Chromium cover. FYI: They cost a bajillion dollars to make. And apparently there’s only ONE dude who makes them. I like to imagine he lives in some shack in Vietnam, worshiped by the locals as some sort of shiny god. But I digress.

I wish I’d gotten to write an issue. We talked about it a time or two, but it just didn’t happen.

Cut to December 2016.

I was in the aforementioned Swamp of Despond (see yesterday’s post), working on commissions in between floating around my house like one of those Ghost Army Guys in Return of the King. Around that time, I got a request from a guy named Noah who was wanting to propose to his lady through a few panels he was hoping to commission me to do. Being a sucker for love, I agreed to take on the job.

From there, I went entirely overboard. In a good way.

What started as “a few panels” morphed into a 5-page, never-before-seen CHEW comic, written, drawn and colored by me, with color assists from longtime CHEW color assistant Taylor Wells and lettered by Layman himself. Because, look, I don’t know how to half-ass anything. If I’m gonna do a CHEW story for a guy, I’m gonna do a CHEW story for a guy.

I suppose that makes it part of the CHEW canon. It’s a silly little story, and I’m pretty proud of it. I picture it as taking place somewhere between issues 30 and 42.

Thanks to Noah for allowing me to be a part of his special moment and for being a good sport all around. And thanks to his lady Andrea for not saying “No”, thus making this comic a rather sad exercise in futility. Congrats, guys.

And thanks to Layman and Taylor helping me bless some CHEW fans. And for letting me work out a last bit of personal closure.